Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

What is MR Angiography?

MR angiography (MRA) is an MRI study of the blood vessels. It utilizes MRI technology to detect, diagnose and aid the treatment of heart disorders, stroke and blood vessel diseases. MRA provides detailed images of blood vessels without using any contrast material, although today a special form of contrast usually is given to make the MRI images even clearer. The procedure is painless, and the magnetic field is not known to cause tissue damage of any kind.

What are some common uses of the procedure?

• Many patients with arterial disease now have it treated in the radiology department rather than undergoing surgery in an operating room. MRA is a very useful way of finding problems with blood vessels and determining how to best to treat those problems.
• The carotid arteries in the neck that conduct blood to the brain are a common site of atherosclerosis, which may severely narrow or block off an artery, reducing blood flow to the brain and even causing a stroke. If an ultrasound study shows that such disease is present, many surgeons now will do the necessary operation after confirmation by MRA, dispensing with the need for catheter angiography.
• MRA has found wide use in checking patients for diseased arteries, so that only those with positive findings will need to have a more invasive catheter study.
• MRA also is used to detect disease in the aorta and in blood vessels supplying the kidneys, lungs and legs.
• Patients with a family history of arterial aneurysm, a ballooning out of a segment of the vessel wall, can be screened by MRA to see if they have a similar disorder that has not produced symptoms. If an aneurysm is found, it may be eliminated surgically, possibly avoiding serious or fatal bleeding.